Standard Chartered has issued a research note asserting that Bitcoin’s recent steep sell-off is approaching its end, with the bank maintaining ambitious year-end 2026 price targets of $100,000 for Bitcoin and $4,000 for Ethereum.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, pointed to the structural resilience of spot Bitcoin ETF holdings as a key confidence signal. Despite the price decline, ETF-based BTC assets have remained stable, suggesting that institutional investors are not engaging in panic selling.
A pivotal catalyst for a rebound, according to Kendrick, is an anticipated large-scale repurchase by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). He noted that the direct trigger for this week’s drop was Strategy’s sale of just 32 BTC. Drawing a parallel to December 22, 2022 — when the firm sold 704 BTC for tax reasons and repurchased 810 BTC two days later — Kendrick expects a more aggressive buyback this time, potentially ranging from 320 BTC to 3,200 BTC.
“This week has been painful for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market. There’s really no way to put it any other way. But when we see BTC reaching $100,000 and Ethereum reaching $4,000 by the end of 2026, we’ll see that the current situation is the buying zone we all want,” Kendrick wrote in a client note.
The bank’s long-term outlook hinges on a thesis of sustained institutional adoption and improving regulatory clarity. While near-term volatility persists, the analysis counterbalances bearish sentiment by highlighting structural buying support and corporate activity that could stabilize prices.
